A Hero Arises
by CollieandShire
Summary: Introducing the newest Kung Fu master, Tom! AU.
1. Meeting Tom

_Hello there everyone! This is my first time writing a Kung Fu Panda fanfiction, so I hope you like it. :) The original idea of Tom the Kung Fu Master was my idea, but I must also credit Synchronized Harmony for helping me create his story. :) I highly recommend reading Synchronized Harmony's Lord Shen stories, they're very detailed and very well written. :) I enjoy reading them, as do many others. _

_Anyways I hope you enjoy this story, please review and thanks for reading!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_Chapter One_

Meeting Tom

I balled up my wing and wrapped on the door, and then folded my wings together under my rob sleeves. Inside my left sleeve was a bottle of ink and a brush, and in my right sleeve was a bundle of parchment paper.

The door slowly opened, and a head popped out through the crack. "Dude, how are ya?" he asked softly, using his wing to move his large wattle out of his eyes. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

His accent was distinctly American, and his choice of words were…strange, to say the least. Yet I'd come prepared, and was not taken back by his Americanisms.

"Hello, Master." I said respectfully, bowing low. "I am Lee Yan, and I hail from Gongmen city." I paused, and studied the American's eyes closely. He nodded, smiling.

"Dude, nice to meet you." He said, extending his wing. I took it and shook it lightly, surprised by his strong grasp.

"I was wondering if you'd honor me with an interview." I told him. "You see, I am a writer, and everyone has suggested I write your story. It's not every day an American comes to China and in less than a month becomes one of the greatest Kung Fu Masters of all time."

"Oh, that would be so totally _awesome _if you wrote my story!" he exclaimed. "Freaking cool!"

I was amazed at how similar he was to the legendary Dragon Warrior, who I'd had the privilege of meeting a while back. He, too, used such words, and I wondered who was copying who. Or perhaps they simply were being themselves.

"So, if you wrote my story, are you, y'know, gonna make it into a book?" the Master asked, his eyes wide with excitement. "'Cause if you do, I've gotta get a copy and send it back home to my buddies, they'll think it's sick."

"Yes, of course you'd get a copy." I agreed. "As many as you wanted. And yes, I'm planning on making your story into a book, with your permission of course."

The Master waved his wings around. "Dude, you've got my permission. When are you going to start on it?"

I glanced around. "I need to get an interview with you first." I reminded him.

He slapped himself in the face and gobbled. "Of course man, that's right!" Said he, ushering me in. "Let's get started then!"

I watched at the Master turned and skedaddled into the kitchen, calling behind him, "Go ahead and sit wherever you want! I'll be there in a sec!"

I looked around the small house in wonder, staring in awe at the many paintings on the wall. All of them were of that strange place called America. The Master had pictures of the Sea, with strange two legged creatures throwing nets in the water and pulling fish out. Others were of large vessels, with those same two legged creatures on them. Then there were paintings of the fowl the Master was, standing in the forest with giant antelope and strange looking creatures that I hadn't the faintest idea were.

I glanced around the main room, and seeing a comfortable looking chair I sat down, pulling out my pen, my ink and my papers.

"So dude man, you want some coffee or something?" the Master called from the kitchen.

"Tea would be fine, Master." I replied.

The Master emerged from the kitchen, his long green robe trailing behind his tail feathers. In his wings were two cups, one of which he handed to me and the other he set on the table in front of his chair.

"I brought you some tea." He said proudly, cocking his head and watching me sip from the cup. "Chai Tea. Dude, that stuff is expensive, y'know?"

"Yes Master, it is." I answered with a nod of my head.

"Dude, really, you don't need to call me Master." He rebuked with a grin. "The name's Tom."

"Tom." I repeated, my tongue not used to the strangeness of the formality of calling a Master by his first name. "What does 'Tom' mean in America?"

"Psh, I don't know." He chuckled. "It's just a name."

He leaned back and crossed his legs, sipping his coffee.

"So, Ma-er, I mean, Tom." I began, setting my cup down and opening my ink bottle. I dipped my pen in and wrote on the top of the page _interview with Master Tom. _"Why don't you start at the beginning. What kind of bird are you?"

Tom laughed. "Man, I'm a turkey." He said with a shrug. "There's like, y'know, millions of us in America."

"Turkey. Hmm, interesting." I wrote down the name on my paper. "What is the legend of the turkey?"

"What do you mean?"

I looked up. "Everyone has a story about how their species came to be." I explained. "Bats are descendents of the Dragons, birds come from Fenghuang. Do the Turkeys have a story of how they came to be?"

Tom leaned back in his chair, his long red wattles trailing from his yellow beak and resting on his brown neck feathers. "Let's see…" he muttered, pondering. "How about how the Turkey got his long neck?"

"Okay. How did the Turkey get his long neck?"

Tom grinned, and leaned forward. "Legend has it," he said, "That one day, a turkey crossed the road and got run over by a wagon. Now we all have long necks." He laughed, and slapped his knee.

I failed to see the irony in this story, and watched as he continued to roar at his joke.

"That's it?" I asked, unimpressed. "That's the only story you have?"

"Dude, we aren't much for, y'know, legends and stuff." He told me. "It happens, it happens. It's how it works, y'know." Tom looked me over. "By the way, what kind of bird are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a duck." I informed him.

"You should meet the American ducks. They look _way _different then you."

"I'm sure. So why don't you tell me how you came to China. What brought you here, why did you come here, and how did you become a Master?"

Tom once more leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "It kinda all started, y'know, like a normal day, y'know? Anyways it was me and my dude man friends, and we were walking down the road…"

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please review, it will make my day! :D There will be more chapters forthcoming soon! :D  
_

_-Shire_


	2. America

_Well I'm back again! Thank you Josh for the review, I appreciate it! :D_

_Please read and review, and thank you all for your interest in this story!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_Chapter Two_

America

"…The sun was shining that day, real bright and all, and we decided we'd go and see if any of the hens were interested in going for a hike or something. Y'know, enjoy nature and all. But my friend Joe saw something, something that changed our lives forever…"

_Tom begins remembering that day vividly, a beautiful sunny day with him and his two friends, Bob and Joe._

"Hey dude!" Joe called, strutting ahead of his buddies. "Check it out, man! This is like, totally sick!"

Tom and Bob picked up speed and strutted over to their friend Joe, and all of them gazed down the hill towards the land below.

"Dude, what is that?" Bob asked, gesturing with his wing. Below them was a large structure that was floating on the water, a little flower painted on the front and the words _Mayflower _written on the side. Tiny little floating structures that were like miniatures of the large one were heading towards the shore, with strange looking creatures on them.

"Hey dude, those look like those gangsters with the arrows that live in the woods!" Joe commented. Bob agreed.

"Yeah, except they aren't wearing feathers, see?" Tom pointed out. "Dude, they've got like, something weird covering them all over!"

"Maybe there a new gang that's moving in the area to, y'know, fight the gang with the arrows." Bob suggested.

"Could be. Never know. Dudes, I think we need to steer clear of them. We don't want to get caught in the crossfire if they're an opposing gang, y'know? Someone could like, y'know, die." Tom said.

_Tom drifts back to where he is now, opening an eye to see if his new friend Lee Yan is listening._

"Do you know who they were, dude?" Tom asked.

"No, I have no idea." I replied, scribbling down what he'd said so far.

"They were the gang called the pilgrims." He explained. "Anywho, they didn't end up fighting with the gang with the arrows that was already living there, they ended up being buddies and all, y'know, and even decided to make a day to feast." Tom paused, and shuddered. "It was the worst day in my life."

"How so?" I asked.

_Tom starts having scenes of what happen flash in front of his eyes, remembering the terrors that he'd faced._

"Hurry Tom!" Bob called, running through the forest. Shouts followed the two Turkeys, and gun shots sounded. "Dude, those new gangsters have some fast flying arrows!"

"Keep running man!" Tom urged. "No talking!"

Tom and Bob ran around a corner, and for a minute Tom gained the edge and was ahead of his friend.

Another loud arrow was fired, and Tom heard a thunking sound behind him. He turned and cried out in horror as he stared at his friend Bob, who lay motionless on the ground.

_A stray tear falls from Tom's eye._

"He was dead." He told me, another tear falling.

"D-dead?" I asked, shivering.

"Yes. Those gangsters killed him. I couldn't stop though, for those dudes would kill me next. So I ran. I ran and ran until I got to the harbor, and there was another one of those weird structures, which the pilgrims called a ship! So I ran onto the ship and, y'know, hid and all in the bottom."

"You hid in the hull?" I prodded, scribbling as fast as I could go.

"Yeah, it was like, y'know, all dark and all." Tom said. "Anyways it was so dark my bird senses kicked in. Y'know what I mean?"

I furrowed my brow and thought about this. "Are you implying that since it was dark you fell asleep?"

Tom nodded. "Can't help it man, I'm a bird. And once it gets dark, _bang! _I'm out like a shot, y'know?"

I nodded.

"Anyways, I have no idea how long I slept, but when I woke up I knew something was wrong…"

_Tom goes back to remembering when he woke up, his head shooting up from the barrel he'd been hiding in at the sound of a big noise._

Crash! Tom jerked his head around and shrieked. The ground was moving beneath him, and everything was loud! He had no idea where he was, and flew out of the barrel he'd been hiding in. From the looks of his surroundings it looked like he was in a hollowed out tree, and there was a thunderstorm outside. A thunderstorm that was making the tree move around!

_Tom becomes aware that Lee Yan is talking to him, and shakes his head._

"What did you say?" Tom asked me, his eyes proving to me he had been indeed lost in thought.

"I asked if you were scared." I repeated. "You'd just woken up, had no idea where you were and the entire ship was moving because of a storm."

"Scared? Nah. I go surfing all the time." He said. I stared at him, confused.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "Just sayin'. But no, I wasn't scared at all! I just walked up the steps of what I thought was the tree and through a giant hole. The entire sea was angry, crashing and striking the tree, and then I realized I was on a ship! I then remembered everything that had happened before, and laughed."

"You _laughed_?" I said in disbelief.

"Yep. I was like, 'dude, that's funny. I completely forgot where I was!' and then it happened."

"What happened?"

_Tom goes back to remembering._

A loud noise drew Tom's attention towards the front of the boat, where the strange two legged creatures were climbing up the masts and trying to tie down the sails. A giant wave came crashing on the boat, and Tom was swept overboard. Sputtering, he emerged on the surface and was relieved to find a board floating in the water. Scrambling up it, the turkey turned and watched as the ship sank. His heart went out to the creatures who were struggling on the water, and he couldn't stand there and do nothing.

"Dudes! Over here!" he called. But they didn't hear him. Tom watched as several of the creatures climbed onto a small boat, and smiled. "Good luck! Glad you're fine!" he shouted, and then sat down on his own little board.

_Tom opens his eyes once more and glances at Lee Yan._

"You know how long I was on that board?" he asked me, uncrossing his legs and then crossing them the other direction.

I shook my head no, my eyes no doubt wide with wonder.

"Two weeks."

"Two weeks!" I squealed. "How were you able to survive for _two weeks_?"

"I ate fish and slept." He said. "And then one day when I woke up from one of my naps, I realized that my board had stopped moving. I sat up and what should I see but the most wonderful sight I'd ever seen in my life…"

* * *

_Please review if you've read, thank you! :D  
_

_-Shire_


	3. China

_Back again! Whoa, thanks sleet12, Synchronized Harmony and Comrade for the reviews! I really appreciate it!_

_Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_Chapter Three_

China

Tom grinned as he remembered back to that day, and I watched as the scenes seemed to flash before his eyes.

_Tom finds himself reliving the events of his life._

"Dude, what is this place?" Tom whispered to himself, staring at the land before him. His board had beached against the banks of a strange looking land, and he could see the rooftops of a nearby village. Little rabbits and strange looking deer were walking by, as well as pigs and geese.

One such goose stopped at the sight of the abnormal looking fowl on the board, and peered at him curiously. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Tom stood up and walked onto the land, then fell over kissing it. "Dude, you have no idea how long I've been on the sea. It's been like, y'know, forever."

The goose stared at the bird, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Where do you hail from, kind sir?" he asked.

Tom stood up and with his wing pointed towards the ocean. "I'm from America. What's this place, man?"

"Err, China." The goose stammered. "You're from where?"

"Haven't you ever heard of America?" Tom demanded. "Y'know, land of the free, home of the brave, amber waves of grain, purple mountains, y'know?"

The goose didn't know, he'd never heard of the place.

"Well anyways it's cool and all." Tom said with a shrug. "So I'm in China, huh? That's sweet."

"Do you need a place to stay?" the goose asked him.

"Dude, that would be like totally freaking awesome. All I have is my board." Tom gestured to his board, and then picked it up out of the water. "Speaking of which, I might hang onto that for a while. Saved my life and all, it's kind of, y'know, a symbol."

The goose nodded. Symbols were important to the Chinese.

The goose led Tom down the road and to his house, and introduced him to his family. Tom told them his name, and then promptly fell asleep on a nice, warm bed.

_Tom drifts back to the present._

"It was awesome." He said dreamily. "Food, new friends, sleep. Gosh, it was so sweet. But after a while I realized it was time to move on. Y'know, find me a real home, or at least get back to my old one. So I said goodbye to my new friends and left."

I continued to listen as I scribbled down his words, making short notes to myself.

"So, what happened next?" I asked, looking up.

"Dude, after like, y'know, three days on the road I met the weirdest looking cougar I'd ever seen in my life." Tom told me. "His name was like, Tai Lung or something, and he was out on a mission, too…"

_Tom once more finds himself reliving his memories, remembering that he'd been traveling along a road when he'd come across the strange looking cougar._

"Dude, how goes it!" Tom called to the cat, waving a friendly wing.

The cat had been trotting past, but when the turkey talked to him he stopped and acknowledged him.

"What are you supposed to be?" he sneered, staring at the lone fowl.

"Turkey." Tom said. "You're the weirdest lookin' cougar I've ever seen."

The cat drew itself up on two legs, and crossed his arms. "Are you making fun of me?" he challenged, his eyes ablaze.

"Dude man, no." Tom said with a laugh. "I've just never seen a cougar like you, that's all."

The cat grunted. "Do you know who I _am_?" he demanded.

"A cat."

The large feline slapped himself in the face with his paw. "Not what species I am, you idiot." He growled. "What my name is!"

Tom shrugged. "No idea. I'm a new comer, just blew in like, y'know, two weeks ago."

The giant cat narrowed his eyes. "That's apparent." He then thumped his chest. "I am Tai Lung, greatest feared Kung Fu warrior of all time." He then added, "And I'm even more legendary than that legendary Dragon Warrior, whom I'm on my way to fight!"

"Cool man." Tom nodded, and then extended his wing. "My name's Tom."

Tai Lung stared at the bird, and at his wing. "What, do you plan on taking me on?" he laughed.

Tom looked confused. "Dude, I have no idea what you mean."

Tai Lung rolled his eyes and got back on all fours. "I must be off, my stupid bird friend." He said, chuckling. "When you hear about the death of the Dragon Warrior, know that it was your friend Tai Lung who did it."

Then the cat was off.

Tom watched as he ran down the road, and waved. "Bye man!" he called. "Nice meeting you, friend!" Tom then turned back onto the road. "Dude," he muttered to himself, "I made a friend in like, two minutes. That's sick!"

He smiled to himself and continued on his path.

_Tom realizes that Lee Yan is talking to him._

"So you mean to say you didn't realize that Tai Lung had just escaped out of prison and was one of the most wanted criminals of all time?" I asked the turkey.

Tom glanced at me. "Dude, all I knew what that he was a weird looking cougar who called me his friend."

"You do know that he was defeated by the Dragon Warrior, right?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah, I heard about that. He was a bad dude, but I hadn't known that when I'd met him." Tom replied. "Anyways, I kept going on my path, traveling a little bit at a time. I think it was, y'know, like, y'know, four weeks later that I met another traveler. This one wasn't alone though, he had like, I don't know, fifty wolves with him, and they were dragging these weird boxes behind them. The wolves' leader I quickly realized was a peacock, though I'd never seen one like him before…"

_Another memory flashes before Tom's eyes._

"Hiya, dude mans!" Tom said cheerily, swinging his board to another shoulder. He'd been lugging it on his back for weeks now, and refused to go anywhere without it. It was, after all, the board that had saved his life. It was special.

A white peacock and at least fifty wolves were traveling along the road. All the wolves were eyeing the strutting bird hungrily, but no one made a move to harm the fowl. Their master, the peacock, had not given them permission, and they knew the consequences if they were to act without permission.

"Greetings, uhh, strange looking peacock." The white peacock said, swinging his train around and facing Tom. His train had black and red on it, and was quite bright.

"Whoa!" Tom said, covering his eyes from the flashiness of the peacock's train. "Dude, that's one sick train!"

"_Sick_?" the peacock repeated, his eyes flashing with anger. "How dare you say such a thing!"

Tom stared at the peacock. "It's just cool man, sorry." He managed. What was wrong with what he'd said?

Now it was the peacock's turn to look confused. "Cool?"

"Y'know, awesome." Tom explained. "You're train is awesome. Cool. Sick. Y'know?"

The peacock relaxed and folded his hands within the sleeves of his robe. "Oh, I see." He studied the bird before him, sneered at the fact that the bird before him was wearing no cloths, and then asked, "What are you supposed to be? Some kind of peasant?"

"I'm a turkey, dude." Tom said. He extended his wing. "Nice to meet ya. The name's Tom."

"Tom?" the peacock laughed. "I dare say, what kind of name is that?"

"Mine." Tom answered.

The peacock laughed harder, and all his wolves joined in. "You're not from around here, are you Turkey?" he inquired, smirking.

"Dude, I'm from America." Tom said proudly. "Yep, red white and blue!"

"I say, I've never heard of this, _America _before. Are you sure you didn't dream it up?"

"Oh no man, it's real. I lived there like, y'know, my whole life."

"Mhm." The peacock mused. "My name is Lord Shen, soon to be Emperor Shen."

"Dude, that's sweet!" Tom exclaimed. "Getting a promotion are you? Congrats!"

Shen glared at the peacock. "No, you fool!" he shouted. "I am on my way to take over _CHINA!_"

"Oh. Well that's still cool." Tom said with a shrug.

"It's not _cool_." Shen replied coldly. "It shall be glorious!"

"Same thing dude."

Apparently the peacock was done talking with Tom, for from within his sleeve he suddenly withdrew a long knife and pointed it at the turkey.

"The only reason you're still alive is because I can't bear the thought of ruining my reputation killing a stupid bird that couldn't defend itself." Lord Shen growled, his knife inches away from Tom's face. Tom lifted his wing and moved the knife.

"Dude, chill." Tom said with a smile.

Shen glared at the turkey, his anger boiling to a near explosive point. His wolves recognized the look, and all of them backed off a couple steps.

"You stupid, idiotic, _turkey_!" Shen yelled. He put his knife back. "You have no idea who you speak to. I am _Lord Shen_. I am _the _Lord Shen! Haven't you ever heard of me?"

"Uhhh…Nope, don't think I have." Tom mused.

Shen threw his wings up in despair. "I don't have time for this." He muttered. He gestured to his wolves to continue on. "Farewell, turkey. Send me a congratulations card when I become emperor." Shen said stiffly, and with that turned and brushed his long and flashy train in Tom's face. Tom moved the feathers out of his face and waved.

"Bye dudes! Have fun!" he called, then turned back onto the road. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he had to keep walking if he were to get there.

_Tom shakes his head and gazes at Lee Yan._

"Soo…" I murmured, staring at the turkey with new respect, "You met up with _Lord Shen _and survived? That's incredible."

Tom shook his head. "Dude, normal day life." He commented. "Nothing special."

I wrote down a couple more notes, and then glanced back up at the turkey. "I suppose you heard what happened to Lord Shen, right?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. He like, tried to blow up the Dragon Warrior and got his train kicked good. Though I heard he was reincarnated by a phoenix and sent back down to earth to live a good life or something like that."

"That's…speculation, yes." I hesitated. "Most of us think he survived and then made that story up to save his neck after he tried to take over China from the emperor."

"I think it's true." Tom declared.

"Let's not go into that right now." I suggested. "What else happened after your meeting with Lord Shen?"

"That, dude, is where it kinda gets funny." Tom grinned.

* * *

_Just to let you know, the reference to Shen being reincarnated by a phoenix is a direct reference to Synchronized Harmony's first Lord Shen story, **The Return of Lord Shen. **It's really a cool story, I recommend reading it. :)_

_Thanks for reading and please review! Thank you!_

_-Shire_


	4. Meeting the Furious Five & Master Shifu

_Hello there everyone! Thank you Synchronized Harmony and Sleet12 for the reviews-it is highly appreciated!_

_Well, here's another chapter! Please read and review, and thank you!_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_

* * *

_Chapter Four_

Meeting the Furious Five and Master Shifu

_Tom goes back to remembering once more._

Tom strutted down the road, the board he'd been shipwrecked on strapped to his back. It was starting to get heavy, and Tom wondered if it was really worth carrying.

Up ahead he spotted a cloud of dust, and reasoned that it was some more travelers on a journey. _Wonder if it's that peacock dude again. _Tom wondered.

When he'd gotten within hearing range, Tom called out, "Hey dudes! How goes it?"

The travelers came closer and stopped, and Tom beheld a strange black and white bear, another weird cougar, a praying mantis, a crane, a snake and…something he had no idea what it was.

"Dudes, how are you?" Tom greeted. The strange black and white bear stared at him.

"That is insanely awesome!" The bear exclaimed. "You like, are talking like me!"

"Man, you speak my language!" Tom cried out, and exchanged a knuckle greeting with the bear.

"Oh, please." The feline said, doing a face palm. It was already hard enough that the strange bird wasn't wearing any cloths, but now he was talking like her traveling companion, the black and white bear! "I don't know how much more of this kind of talk I can take."

"You mean that Po isn't the only one who talks like this?" the strange looking creature demanded. "How is that possible?"

"We must be like, y'know, long lost brothers or something!" the bear named Po said gleefully, doing a happy dance. "This is so _awesome_!"

Tom thought about this. He wouldn't mind being brothers to a bear-more protection, you know. "Sure man. We're brothers."

"Wait a second!" the feline groaned. She turned to the bear. "Po, he's a…I don't know what. You're a _panda. _You can't be related."

"Dude, you're a panda?" Tom asked. "That's cool. What's that?"

"Only the most awesome creature in the whole world!" Po announced proudly. "What are you?"

"You look like some kind of bird." The crane added in, removing his triangular hat and scratching his head with one of his feet. This was the weirdest looking bird he'd ever seen.

"Right on, crane bird." Tom answered. "I'm a turkey."

"A turkey?" The snake repeated. "I've never heard of that kind of bird."

"We're like, y'know, from America."

All of them stared blankly at him. "America?" the strange looking creature murmured.

"Yeah, it's like the land of all the free." Tom peered at the brown animal. "What are you, dude?"

"Who me? I'm a monkey!" The money said with a laugh. "Haven't you ever seen a monkey before?"

"Uhh…no." Tom pondered. "Nope, nothing in my noggin."

"What are you doing out here?" The praying mantis inquired.

"I was like, y'know, traveling and all, and am, y'know, going somewhere."

"Where?" The big cat asked, crossing her arms. She wasn't sure what to make of this-turkey.

"I dunno." Tom shrugged. "Wherever I feel like it."

Po pointed at himself. "My name's Po." He said proudly. "I'm the Dragon Warrior."

"Oh yeah, I heard about you from this weird looking cougar several weeks back." Tom nodded. "Cool, man."

"These are my friends." Po gestured towards the other five animals. "Tigress," he pointed at the cat, "Monkey," he pointed at the monkey, "Crane," he waved his hand towards the bird, "Mantis," he motioned to the bug, "and Viper." He finished by motioning to the snake.

"Nice to meet you all." Tom said with a smile. "The name's Tom."

"Tom?" Tigress was unimpressed. "Well, _Tom, _we must be going now. We are on our way to Gongmen city to defeat Lord Shen."

Tom scratched his head with his wing. "Oh, that dude. Yeah, I ran across him. Bad dude, he's like, y'know, so uncool."

"You met _with him_?" Tigress growled. Suspension furrowed her brow as she narrowed her eyes at the turkey.

"Yep. He pulled a knife on me." Tom replied.

"Aww, leave him be, Tigress." Mantis said with a laugh. "He knows nothing."

"Agreed." Tigress muttered. "We must be going now."

"Bye Tom!" Po waved cheerfully as they walked past the Turkey. "Dude, you should come visit me sometime! I live in the Valley of Peace. Look me up if you head that way!"

"Will do, man!" Tom called back, waving as they went on their way. "Nice meeting you all!"

_Tom comes back to the present, where Lee Yan is busily scribbling._

"Wow." I breathed. "You met the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior and held a conversation with them?"

"Yep." Tom said, nodding. "They were cool."

"Astounding." I muttered, writing down a note to myself. "Simply astounding. Master Tigress doesn't talk to just anyone, you know."

"Really?" Tom asked, cocking his head. "Weird. She talks to me."

"Uhuh." I studied the turkey's face, then asked, "Soo…what happened next?"

"What happened next?" Tom's eyes grew wide with excitement. "What happened next? Dude, what happened next is what made me the next Kung Fu Master!"

_Tom reflects on the day he entered the Valley of Peace._

Tom walked through the village, waving a friendly wing to anyone who looked his way. If he'd paid more attention, he would have realized _everyone _was looking his way. For one thing Tom wasn't wearing anything. (He was a native American after all) For another _no one _had _ever _seen a bird quite like this one.

Tom passed a noodle store, and paused. Sniffing, he rubbed his stomach. "Man, that smells good." He smiled. He walked through the archway and into the restaurant.

* * *

A certain goose was working on making noodle soup. No one had paid his restaurant a visit so far this morning, but he liked to be prepared anyways.

"Dude, how goes it?" A voice asked. The goose looked up in surprise, and stared at the bird in front of him.

"I beg your pardon, but, where are your robes!" The goose exclaimed. Tom looked down at himself.

"Aren't feathers enough? None of the travelers ever pointed it out to me when I passed." Tom mused.

"No sir, they are not enough!" The goose said with a laugh. "Come with me, I'll get you something."

"The name's Tom." Tom said, extending his wing to the goose. "What's yours?"

"I am Mr. Ping." Mr. Ping answered, shaking Tom's wing. Mr. Ping led Tom towards a back room, and lifted a green robe off a peg. "I never could wear this, it's far too big for me. Here, you may have it."

"Oh, thanks man." Tom said, taking the robe and slipping into it. It fit nicely, and even had a hood. "Dude, I look like, y'know, some kind of awesome person."

"You sound just like my son, Po." Mr. Ping said with a sigh. "He's on his way to save China."

"That's cool." Tom mused, wondering where he'd heard the name before. Birds have horrible memories, and Tom soon shook the thought out of his head, not realizing he'd met this Po.

After exchanging a bit of conversation with Mr. Ping, Tom left the noodle shop and towards a long set of stairs. Way, way at the top of the stairs was a strange looking house, and Tom decided he would go and see what it was.

"Looks like a tourist attraction." He thought aloud. "Amazingness."

_Lee Yan brings Tom out of his memories._

"How could you _not _know that was the Jade Palace?" I exclaimed in dismay. "_The _Jade Palace! Surely someone mentioned it to you!"

"Nope, I had no idear." Tom told me. I put my head in my wings and sighed.

"All right then, continue."

"Well, after I climbed those stairs, I came to a door. I opened the door and walked in-"

"You _walked into the Jade Palace uninvited!_" I quacked. This was preposterous! I couldn't imagine _anyone _doing this!

"Dude, chill." Tom said with a wave of his hand. "I didn't know better, y'know?"

"Apparently." I muttered.

"Anywho, I walked into the room and saw a weird looking rabbit sitting on a stick…"

_Tom reminiscences back to that day._

"Dude, whatcha doing?" Tom asked the strange rabbit.

The rabbit wasn't expecting visitors, and promptly leapt off the stick and grabbed it, hitting Tom on the head. _WHAM! _

"Oww." Tom muttered, rubbing his head. "Dude, you can pack 'em in, can't you?"

The rabbit stared at Tom, his giant round ears twitching. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"The name's Tom." Tom extended his wing. "And what's you're name, rabbit?"

"I am not a rabbit!" the creature retorted. "I am a red panda."

"Oh, sorry."

The red panda sighed. "You obviously wandered in here by-how did you get here?"

"Oh, I climbed the stairs." Tom answered, gesturing towards the door. "Long climb. You need an elevator or something, dude."

The panda snorted. "You speak just like the Dragon Warrior." He said stiffly. He didn't enjoy such talk at all. "Are you a stranger to this land? I have never seen your type before."

"I'm a turkey. Seems none of ya have ever seen one."

"No, I certainly have not. My name is Master Shifu. Where do you hail from, er, Turkey?"

"America." Tom answered. "Probably haven't heard of that either, huh dude?"

"Master." Shifu corrected. "No, I have not."

_Tom looks towards Lee Yan and smiles._

"Well, the nice old Master let me stay at the palace since I didn't have anywhere to stay, and so I slept in one of the guest rooms for the night."

I shook my head in amazement. "I don't know how you pulled that off. Shifu isn't one for strangers."

"He was fine with me." Tom shrugged. "Anyways, he started showing me some of his moves that he did, after I asked him."

_Tom goes back into his memories._

"Dude, what are you doing?" Tom asked, watching as Master Shifu circled with one foot and moved his paws gracefully. He caught a water droplet with his paw and maneuvered it into his other paw, then slowly dropped it onto a plant.

"Inner peace." Master Shifu replied, turning to the turkey and giving the hints of a smile. "A highly advanced Kung Fu move."

"Cool, let me try!" Tom exclaimed.

"I don't believe you'll master it right away." Shifu chuckled. "It takes years…"

His voice trailed off as he watched in amazement as Tom copied every movement exactly, caught a water droplet and lowered it to a plant. "That was awesome." Tom said, opening up his eyes. "Inner peace, huh? Gonna have to show my buddies back home when I return. Peace is our thing, dude. We're like, y'know, always peaceful."

"How-" Shifu gasped. Never in his life had he ever seen anything like it. In three seconds someone who'd never done Kung Fu in his life was able to master Inner Peace! Suddenly, Shifu got an idea. "Try this." He commanded, and went into a series of highly advanced Kung Fu kicks and swings, twisting his body around and delivering blow after blow to a fake enemy.

"Okay!" Tom went into an exact replica of what Shifu did, copying every move so well it looked like he'd done Kung Fu his whole life.

"How can you do that!" Shifu exclaimed. "How are you doing _that_?"

Tom stopped doing Kung Fu and turned to the Master. "You told me to." He stated bluntly.

"No, how were you able to do it so well?"

"Because you told me to."

No matter how much Shifu tried, he couldn't figure out how the turkey had done it. In one afternoon Shifu taught Tom every move he knew, and fell back in amazement as Tom completed his training in three hours.

"Cool man." Tom said, finishing his last move. "What's next?"

"That's it." Shifu panted. "That's all I have to teach you."

Tom smiled. "Awesome." He then proceeded to continue twirling and twisting and kicking, flying gracefully across the room in a dangerous dance of Kung Fu.

_Lee Yan interrupts Tom's thoughts._

"What was your secret?" I demanded, snapping Tom out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"What was your secret? How were you able to learn Kung Fu in _one _afternoon?"

"Oh. Uhhh…I'm not sure. It just kinda sorta somewhat happened."

I shook my head, dumbfounded. "I can't believe it." I whispered. "You learned Kung Fu in _three _hours?"

"Yep." Tom nodded. "Because I learned so well, I guess the Master dude decided I was good enough to protect the Palace while he ran off because of some vision he had…"

* * *

_Well, hope you liked this chapter. Please review, and thanks for reading!_

_-Shire_


	5. Sparring

_Well, I'm back with the final chapter of Tom's story! I know, this story was really short, but it was just meant as a fun short story for readers. :) Thank you Sleet12 for the review! I appreciate it!_

_Please read and review everyone! Thank you!_

_-Shire from CollieandShie_

* * *

_Chapter Five_

Sparring

_Tom recalls what happened next._

"Tom! Tom!" Shifu came running from the direction he left every afternoon to meditate, his eyes wide. "Tom! I must leave the Valley of Peace and travel to Gongmen city!"

"Okay." Tom replied, turning from his tea. "Sure man." He gestured to his tea. "What's in this stuff?"

"That is not important right now!" Shifu retorted. "I need you to watch over the valley while I'm gone. Can you do that?"

"Sure!" Tom exclaimed. "I'd love to. Dude, this is gonna be sick!"

Shifu rolled his eyes and left the turkey with a shake of his head. He had to get to Gongmen, if his vision was correct. The Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five were in grave danger. Lord Shen may have just killed Po.

* * *

Tom watched the red panda leave, then went and perched on top of the Jade Palace. Every hour he'd call out, "Nine o'clock and all's well!" It didn't matter if it was no longer nine o'clock, he'd say it anyways. Tom didn't really know how to tell time, so he figured nine would work for now.

It was after the seventh nine o'clock that Tom saw it. It seemed that some bandits had heard that Master Shifu had left the Valley of Peace and were taking advantage of it. From Tom's vantage point he could see that they'd begun raiding the village, and there were at least twenty-five of them.

"Dude, not cool." Tom muttered. He spread his wings and glided down to the village below.

* * *

Seven wolves, eight leopards, two tigers, five crocodiles and three pigs made up a ring of bandits that called themselves the 'Stingers.' They struck fast and left their victims stinging for weeks, financially or physically.

Currently the leader, Jaws the crocodile, was leading the raiders into the village. He had heard that Master Shifu had left, and in his place had left (of all things) the strange turkey visitor in charge. Why he'd be so foolish as to do so, Jaws didn't know. But he did know this-he was going to take advantage of the situation fully!

Jaws burst through a house and with a roar grabbed a deer and threw it out of his way, grabbing a pot of money in the middle of the table. The croc laughed evilly as the deer wailed in fear and anger.

Suddenly Jaws became aware that there was a commotion outside. He ran back through the door and beheld a strange sight.

In the middle of his ring of robbers was the green robed figure of the turkey! He was standing there, weaponless, talking earnestly with his warriors.

"Dudes." The turkey was saying. "Why are you doing this? Not cool, dudes."

"Who do you think you are to tell me and my men what to do?" Jaws sneered, stepping towards the turkey. "I'm afraid I'll have to kill you now."

"Man, just don't." The turkey said, lifting up his wing. "Or I'll have to beat you all up. And I really don't want to, y'know? So why don't you just leave?"

Jaws laughed. "It is us who will be doing the beating up!" he roared, and his men joined in.

"Okay." The turkey shrugged. That was the last thing Jaws remembered.

* * *

When Shifu, the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior arrived back home in the Valley of Peace, they were weary from their battle with Shen. Upon their arrival, though, they had a great surprise waiting for them.

Within the walls of the Jade Palace was a jail underneath the building to hold criminals temporarily. Inside the jails was twenty-five bandits.

"What happened!" Master Shifu exclaimed. He ran up the stairs and to the guest room.

Bursting through, he found Tom practicing Inner Peace again. "Oh, hey man!" Tom greeted, stopping his stance and bowing before Shifu. "How did the journey go?"

"Him!" Tigress nearly shouted when she followed Shifu to the guest room. "He's the one you left in charge?!"

"Who are those bandits downstairs?" Shifu demanded, ignoring Tigress.

"Oh, those are some bad dudes that tried to, y'know, raid the village and all." Tom explained. "I beat them up and put them down there. They're on time out."

Needless to say, the Furious Five and Po and Master Shifu were impressed when they listened to Tom's story. Apparently he had just done what Shifu had told him and protected the village, defeating all the bandits within three minutes. All of the villagers confirmed this, and Master Shifu realized he had another student-er, graduated student, on his hands.

_Tom opens his eyes and turns to Lee Yan._

"So yep, Master Shifu made me Master Tom, Turkey Warrior. And since then I have been living in the Jade Palace and doing Kung Fu and stuff. So yep, that's my story."

I finished writing down the rest of the notes and then stared at the manuscript in front of me. "This is an incredible story." I told him. "What ever happened to that board you got shipwrecked on, though? You never mentioned it again."

Tom smiled, and stood up and stretched. "Follow me." He beckoned, and led me down the hall. He pointed at something right above the entry to his home, and I saw the worn and rotted board.

"That's the board you floated in on?" I asked.

"Yep. It still holds a special place in my heart." Tom said with a sigh. "It reminds me of home."

I chatted with Tom for another half hour, asking a couple more questions and writing down the answers, and then bid him goodbye and left. I had to get home as fast as I could, for I had a story to write. The story of Master Tom the Turkey, the newest Kung Fu Legend.

_The End_

* * *

_Special thanks are in order to_

_Synchronized Harmony, for helping me create the story of Tom the Turkey. :)_

_Sleet12, for always being faithful for reviewing_

_All my wonderful sisters, who inspired me to write Tom' story_

_Thank you to all my reviewers, too!_

_Josh, Sleet12, Synchronized Harmony and Comrade. I appreciate reviews so much!_

_And of course, thanks to all my readers who read but didn't review. I still appreciate the fact you read the story. :)_

_-Shire from CollieandShire_


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